Tech of the month: The most exciting and innovative bikes and gear in October
A roundup of tech trends and some of the most interesting gear that's landed at Cyclingnews in the last month
October is typically the transition month between the seasons. Sure, there are a few days where you can get away with a short sleeve jersey and some of the best arm warmers, but on the whole, it's time to accept that summer is over and it's time for long-sleeves, covered knees, and an endless cycle of getting your best road bike filthy and then cleaning it again ad nauseum. If you happen to be reading this from the southern hemisphere then please enjoy the sunshine on our behalf!
As always, just in case you missed anything, we've got a roundup of all the best tech stories from the last month, from new releases and reviews to some in-depth features.
Mondays are always tough, so take 10 minutes, get yourself a pumpkin spice latte, tread on some crunchy leaves, and scroll through what's been going on here at Cyclingnews this month.
The big news this month from a racing perspective was the inaugural Gravel World Championships in Cittadella, Italy. While gravel racing has been becoming increasingly more mainstream in the past few seasons (nobody say anything about The Spirit of Gravel please, that's a conversation for another day), having a set of rainbow stripes for the discipline certainly marks a pretty big watershed moment for the genre.
We took a look at the winning bike of serial world champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, the new BMC Kaius 01, a distinctly aero gravel race bike, and one that we've also been fortunate to throw a leg over and bring you a review of too.
Being the officially sanctioned gravel world championships you'd expect everyone to be on gravel bikes, no? Well, it seems that plenty of pros, mostly those popping over from the road for a bit of dusty fun, decided to use road bikes for gravel worlds. Not only did they use them, but Matthieu van der Poel came third and Gianni Vermeersch won the whole event atop the new Canyon Ultimate.
On a continuing gravelly theme, the powerhouse that is Specialized treated us to a new Diverge STR, replete with both front AND rear future shocks. We've seen the front future shock for a while now, currently in its second generation atop the Specialized Roubaix and the outgoing Diverge, but this latest STR model also adds a damped rear suspension into the mix. It takes the form of effectively a free-floating seat tube, pivoting along the bottom bracket, and damped by a small unit housed within the top tube.
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Given the R&D that has apparently gone into it, it's not a great surprise to see Specialized taking the decision to leave the damping unit exposed, rather than housing it in a protective cover. Whatever you feel it looks like (to my eyes it's reminiscent of the mad Slingshot bikes that had a cable for a downtube), our first ride review found it to be extremely effective.
In a final flurry of off-road content, and given the cyclocross season is well and truly underway, we also brought you a comprehensive guide to cyclocross tyres. Few bits of tech are so revered in their respective disciplines as proper 'cross tyres, and there are some key differences compared to the best gravel tyres that'll allow you to eke out some extra traction and speed when you're flying between the tapes with your lungs burning.
We take you through the tyre construction, whether you should use tubes or go tubeless, talk about width, and recommend some tread patterns for all the conditions you're likely to encounter whether it's your first season or you've been doing it for a few years.
If cyclocross tyres leave you feeling lost, then perhaps the new Wahoo Elemnt Roam can help you find your way back to familiar ground (yes, I am as smug about that segue as you might imagine).
Not only did we bring you news of the new, navigation focussed offering from Wahoo, but also a review of it too. While we're on the subject of the best bike computers we also pulled together a list of the best Garmin deals in advance of the festival of capitalism that is Black Friday/Cyber Monday at the tail end of November, so if you want to beat the rush head there.
If you're wondering whether you really need a cycling computer, myself and our new Tech Writer, Tom, decided to face off in an online debate of sorts, where I argued that for a lot of the riding you do you'd have just as much fun, if not more so, without one. Tom, despite clearly being wrong, did a valiant job of arguing the case for having one. Where do you stand?
While we do our level best to provide a good spread of tech content, from entry-level to high-end, we appreciate that some of you just love to look at money-can't-buy pieces of rolling artwork or the tech at the absolute cutting edge of the sport. To that end, we put together a rundown of the tech used by Filippo Ganna to break the hour record and the absolutely staggering bill that comes with it!
At the more aesthetic end of the spectrum, we also gave you a rundown of five beautiful bicycles from Bespoked, the world's biggest handmade bike show, and a deep dive into the bike that won best in show: A 3D printed titanium time trial bike from Sturdy Cycles. Trust us, it's not a gallery to be missed.
Finally, we appreciate that for a lot of us the deepening Autumn and impending Winter mean spending a much greater chunk of our riding time on platforms like Zwift. With this in mind, we took you through the new Zwift Hub smart trainer and the latest model of the Wahoo Kickr, both of which performed exceptionally. What's more, for those of you looking to get into indoor cycling, we updated our guide to the cheapest Zwift setup, so you can get rolling while still keeping as much money in your pocket as possible.
As ever, we also like to give you a sneak preview of what's landed on our desks for the upcoming month, as well as highlighting some more boutique products that we believe are worthy of the spotlight. This month we've even got an exclusive pre-release look at something from Albion.
Hobopieces Restuvus
I am a rider prone to overpacking. Weight doesn't overly trouble me, and when the temperature drops I like to be able to bring things like a down jacket for the café stop, loads of food, or maybe even a flask of coffee. My favourite portage method is a little 9L Carradice Audax saddlebag, which happily straps through the saddle loops of the Brooks saddles I tend to run if I'm given the choice.
The problem for me comes when I can't use a Brooks saddle or another option with saddle loops, and that's where the Restuvus from Hobopieces comes in. This delightfully anodised block of aluminium, machined in Wisconsin, bolts to the upwardly inflected portion of your saddle rails (please, just the metal ones!), and provides some loops through which you can thread some high-capacity luggage.
Yes, it's niche, but I really am a sucker for boutique anodised aluminium, and while bolting 118g of metal to your saddle isn't necessarily the most attractive prospect for some of us, it pales into insignificance against the actual luggage load it allows, so I don't let it worry me unduly.
The Hobopieces website can happily show you more if you're cargo curious.
absoluteBLACK brake pads
It would be remiss of us as a publication to bring you news of a £100 set of brake pads without also getting some in to try out ourselves to see if they live up to both the hype and the price tag.
The Graphenpads from absoluteBLACK feature a radical cooling fin design that aims to maximise airflow and reduce the fins radiating heat back at their neighbours, and a graphene coating on the metal back plate to maximise heat dissipation.
If that wasn't enough graphene, there are also tiny specs of the new wonder-carbon within the pad compound itself in place of copper to act as a friction modifier, which according to absoluteBLACK not only improves braking performance but also prolongs the life of your rotors by filling in micro pores in the steel structure.
A stack of embrocation
Do I have a slight propensity for masochism? Perhaps. Do I like looking at my legs when they're all shiny during a ride? Yes, I do. That's why I've decided to do some in-depth research into the mystical world of cycling embrocation.
These spicy leg creams and unguents give your legs the feeling of warmth even when it isn't necessarily as warm outside as one would hope for. The most common heating element is chilli extract, so there are certain protocols to adhere to avoid getting it where it really shouldn't be.
Through the colder months, I'm going to see if it makes any difference, helps with warming up, and also whether you can make your own at home on the cheap... Please, don't start smearing tabasco into your thighs, just wait for the article!
Albion Burners
Albion's range of Burners has expanded out from the original high-tech alternative to stuffing some newspaper down your jersey to include the Zoa Burner, a lightweight insulated scarf, and the brand new (and never before seen) insulated Burner Musette.
The aim of all of them, regardless of which one, is to provide what I like to think of as 'pocket warmth'. Carrying an extra layer isn't always possible, so strategically insulating key parts of your body when the temperature can keep you rolling without adding bulk.
The original Burner takes the form of an insulated square of material that tucks in under your bib short straps and keeps your core from getting overly chilled. Think of it like a body warmer, but one that stuffs down to the size of a large kiwi fruit and weighs the same as a USB stick and a five-pence piece.
The Zoa Burner is more attuned to the needs of the bikepacking and adventure cycling crowd who are more likely to have a quality jacket keeping the elements off their bodies. Your neck has an enormous amount of blood going through it, to and from your brain, and so insulating the surface vessels from the cold does wonders for your overall levels of warmth. The Zoa Burner stuffs down to the size of a fist and weighs as much as a pair of Silca tyre levers.
The final, and newest Burner takes the form of an insulated musette. The aim is to provide ultra-distance racers somewhere to stash all their horrible gas station food while blearily speeding towards another checkpoint in the dark, while also providing the option of some insulation as the original burner. It has a removable strap, and while it doesn't come with an inbuilt stuff sack it does weigh less than three original GameBoy cartridges (Pokemon Blue, Super Mario Land, and Wave Race).
Head to the Albion website to find out a little more about these insulating goodies.
Ribble Ultra SL
"Designed to be ridden flat out all the time", so the website says. Well, I'm going to see if my legs can keep up with that demand over the coming weeks as I throw my increasingly exhausted pins over the new Ribble Ultra. While I have the SL 'Enthusiast' spec, rather than the full-on race level SL R, It's pretty clear this is a bike solely focussed on cheating the wind.
To have such an aero-optimised bike at this price (the lowest spec model is a hair under £3,500) is quite a rarity. It's going to be interesting to see what cost, if any, the dramatic aero gains have traded off against.
For now though, just enjoy some pictures.
Will joined the Cyclingnews team as a reviews writer in 2022, having previously written for Cyclist, BikeRadar and Advntr. He’s tried his hand at most cycling disciplines, from the standard mix of road, gravel, and mountain bike, to the more unusual like bike polo and tracklocross. He’s made his own bike frames, covered tech news from the biggest races on the planet, and published countless premium galleries thanks to his excellent photographic eye. Also, given he doesn’t ever ride indoors he’s become a real expert on foul-weather riding gear. His collection of bikes is a real smorgasbord, with everything from vintage-style steel tourers through to superlight flat bar hill climb machines.
